You sold our only cow for a handful of beans?
You silly boy, come here!''

Angrily, she snatched the beans from jack's
hand and flung them out of the window. Jack was sent to bed with no supper that
night.

The next morning, Jack's rumbling stomach
woke him early. His room was strangely dark. As he got dressed, he glanced out
of his window-and what he saw took his breath away.

Overnight, a beanstalk had sprung up outside
the cottage. lets trunk was almost as thick as the house itself, and
its top was so tall that it disappeared into the clouds.

Jack yelled with excitement and rushed
outside. As he began to climb the beanstalk, his mother stood at the bottom and
begged for him to come back down.

At last, tired and very hungry, Jack reached
the top. He found himself in a strange land full of clouds. He could see
something glinting in the distance and began walking toward it.

Eventually he came to the biggest castle he
had ever seen. Maybe he could find some food in there?

He crept under the front door and ran
straight into an enormous foot!

''What was that?'' boomed a female
voice, and the whole room shook. Suddenly, Jack was whisked into the air by a
giant hand! He found himself looking into a huge eye.

''What are you?'' roared the voice.

I'm Jack,'' said Jack, ''and I'm tired and
hungry. Can you please give me something to eat and a place to rest for a
while?''

The giant woman was a kind old lady and took
pity on the tiny boy. ''Don't make a sound,'' she whispered. ''My husband
doesn't like boys, and he will eat you if he finds you.'' Then she gave Jack a
crumb of warm bread and a thimble full of hot soup.

He was just finishing the last drop
when the woman said, ''Quick! Hide in the cupboard! My husband's coming!''

From inside the dark cupboard, Jack could
hear the approach of thundering footsteps. Then a deep voice bellowed, ''Fee,
fie, foe, fume, I smell the blood of an Englishman! Be he alive or be he dead,
I'll grind his bones to make my bread!''

Jack peeked out through a knothole in the
cupboard door, and saw a huge giant standing beside the table.

''Wife!'' shouted the giant. ''I can smell a
boy in the house!''

''Nonsense, dear,'' said the giant's wife
soothingly. ''All you can smell is this lovely roast l' ve made for your dinner.
Now sit down and eat.''

When the giant had gobbled up his
dinner, he shouted, ''Wife! Bring me my gold! l want to count it!''

Jack saw the giant's wife bring out several
enormous sacks of gold coins.

He recognized the sacks at once-they had
belonged to his father!

''This must be the giant who killed my father
and stole all our money!'' thought Jack. ''That's our gold!''

Jack watched as the giant counted the coins
and stacked them up in piles. After a while, the giant stared to yawn, and soon
he was fast asleep.

''It's time to make my move!'' Jack said to
himself. And, quick as a flash, he leaped out of the cupboard, grabbed a sack of
gold, slid down the table leg, and ran for the door.

But the giant's wife heard him.
''Stop, thief!'' she screamed at the top of her voice, which woke her husband.
He jumped up in a hurry and ran after Jack, shouting loudly, ''Come back!''

Jack ran until he came to the top of the
beanstalk. Then, with the giant still after him, he scrambled down as fast as he
could.

''Mother!'' he called, as he got closer to
the ground. ''Mother, get the axe!''

By the time Jack reached the bottom, his
mother was there with the axe. She quickly chopped down the beanstalk, and the
giant came crashing down with it. He never got up again!

Now that they had their gold again, Jack and
his mother were rich. They wouldn't have to worry about anything ever again.